Headlines

Marc Thiessen

D.C. whisper campaign targeting Marco Rubio

In recent months, a whispering campaign has spread in Washington suggesting that Rubio may look good on paper, but he cannot “pass vet” for the vice presidential nomination. The whispers became more audible last October following a hit piece by Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia, who accused Rubio of deliberately “embellishing” his family history by saying that his parents arrived in the United States after Castro took power when they, in fact, arrived during the Batista years. (I pointed out at the time that the story offered zero evidence that Rubio intentionally misled anyone)…

The Great Whisperer has used these stories to plant seeds of doubt about Rubio: How well do we really know this guy? What else is there in his record? Indeed, the whispers are making their way into the mainstream commentary. Even in ranking Rubio first on his vice presidential list, The Post’s Chris Cillizza writes, “We hear whispers that his time in the state legislature could be mined by a good opposition researcher.” And this month, the National Journal downgraded Rubio’s position on its vice presidential power rankings because, it claimed, Rubio “skated into office without much of his past being vetted in the media. That would change in a hurry if he’s tapped for the vice presidency, and coming four years after Sarah Palin had such trouble adjusting to harsh scrutiny, that’s a very real concern for some Republicans. After all, Tallahassee has its own secrets.” (Miami Herald political reporter Marc Caputo vigorously disputes the suggestion that Rubio was elected without proper scrutiny by the Florida press corps.)

Rubio spokesman Alex Conant explains, “The fact that that is all they can say, and they can’t point to any specifics, kind of says all you need to know.”

Ok, I’m certainly not on the “Rubio for VP” bandwagon as anyone who reads my posts can attest. But this is just absurd. He wasn’t vetted when he ran for the Senate? Dude had to fend off Chuck Crist AND Kendrick Meeks in order to be elected. Basically he faced off against 2 Democrats, so believe me, if there was some smoking gun that could’ve been used against him, it would’ve been.

Now that’s not to say the Democrats and media(I know, I’m being redundant) can’t just make stuff up in order to smear Rubio should he be tapped for the VP slot. After all, most of the negative stories about Palin were based on hearsay or complete fabrications. And as we saw with her, the Democrat/media complex had no qualms about going after her family in order to destroy her. So Rubio’s wife and his 4 kids as well as his Cuban parents will be fair game in the minds of the American left.

But this “whisper campaign” is just a bunch of BS created out of thin air in order to scare the GOP off of the guy. Which tells me maybe their internal polling shows him adding a lot to the ticket.

They tell you who they don’t want by virtue of whom they preemptively try to eliminate from the competition.

That said, Team Romney should be doing their own vetting of Rubio if they have any plans of tapping him for the VP nod, because as with Palin, the pushback will be viscous, because the Democrats don’t want to have the Republicans rip away the special interest group card. Just as they tried to anoint Barack Obama with Absolute Moral Authority just be virtue of him being the first African-American president, so they want to be able to do the same when the first Hispanic or female president rolls around. They can’t let the GOP steal the card, which is why the attacks on Rubio would dwarf even the bile that would be thrown at a Chris Christie by the left (though being an ex-governor from the northeast, Romney would be an idiot to pick Christie and provide virtually no regional balance to the ticket).

True, but at least it would be a pander to principled people; or, if you think about it, a sign of good intentions … the proverbial olive branch to the base (?).

It should be sad that our party feels the need to put X on the ticket to attract group Y. I realize this may be necessary for “victory,” but it reflects an unhealthy current in our society.

MeatHeadinCA on March 26, 2012 at 3:46 PM

I understand your frustration and concern, but the fact is when a VP is picked, it’s always, for the most part, going to be a political choice. Some sort of pandering is going to take place. Rubio and Martinez both have conservative records so it’s not as if either would be chosen only because he/she is Hispanic…just like Palin wasn’t chosen only because she was a woman.

Of course, he could shock us by picking someone like Tim Pawlenty (the clones).

MeatHeadinCA on March 26, 2012 at 3:37 PM

I thought Rand would have been a good pick, but in the end there will be pandering and more pandering. Jindal would also be an interesting pick since he is a Southern governor, of Indian descent, and was educated in the North and at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Too bad everyone remembers Jindal’s terrible SOTU rebuttal and the awkwardness he projects from time to time. 🙁

The last thing we need is a double dose of awkwardness on our ticket which is why I think cool, young, and charismatic Rubio will ultimately get the slot.

Romney does need to vet him better. McCain let Palin out to dry. Please not another rehash of 2008. If he’s not ready/skeletons in his closet…fine, but don’t let it highjack the narrative all autumn before the election. Vet carefully!

I understand your frustration and concern, but the fact is when a VP is picked, it’s always, for the most part, going to be a political choice. Some sort of pandering is going to take place. Rubio and Martinez both have conservative records so it’s not as if either would be chosen only because he/she is Hispanic…just like Palin wasn’t chosen only because she was a woman.

GOPRanknFile on March 26, 2012 at 3:50 PM

Well, if we must, go with Martinez. You get more; plus she’s not calling for intervention around the world. At least she seems a little bit more level headed.

I thought Rand would have been a good pick, but in the end there will be pandering and more pandering. Jindal would also be an interesting pick since he is a Southern governor, of Indian descent, and was educated in the North and at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Too bad everyone remembers Jindal’s terrible SOTU rebuttal and the awkwardness he projects from time to time. 🙁

The last thing we need is a double dose of awkwardness on our ticket which is why I think cool, young, and charismatic Rubio will ultimately get the slot.

Punchenko on March 26, 2012 at 3:52 PM

Given that Jindal hasn’t swung Romney’s way and … oh, I was just about to say I bet Romney could get LA, but WHO knows!!!

Well, if we must, go with Martinez. You get more; plus she’s not calling for intervention around the world. At least she seems a little bit more level headed.

MeatHeadinCA on March 26, 2012 at 3:56 PM

Yeah, Martinez is the dark horse. She would be a good pick. Governor, Mexican-American, conservative record, intelligent, articulate, impressive resume, governs and has high approval ratings in a state that is trending blue, and extremely likable.

Jindal is the smart choice, but since I want him to actually be President, it is probably best for him not to join the losing Romney team. Rubio is simply too new and will be labeled a pander pick, but I fully expect the Romney team to go there.

“Then in February came the revelation that when Rubio was 8 years old and living in Las Vegas, his family was baptized into the Church of Latter-day Saints and attended a Mormon church for a few years before returning to Catholicism.”

Does a child’s “choice” of religion at age 8 really define his beliefs? At this age, boys still believe that the Easter bunny exists and that girls have cooties. My guess is that this was emphasized to support the notion that he is some sort of Mormon Manchurian candidate. It’s 2012’s version of the Birther controversy.

Plus, am I the only one that noticed Ann Coulter is morphing into Ann Romney?

MeatHeadinCA on March 26, 2012 at 4:04 PM

I suppose Ann Romney will become the new fashionable Jackie O who every conservative woman will want to emulate. I’m OK with that — it sure beats Michelle’s preachy nonsense and the constant banter about her arms. I recall Brian Williams saying something about how the White House was “managing a star” when it came to Michelle Obama. Ugh, November cannot come soon enough.